sorry I would post pics but camera is broke
I'm going to use 10 gauge wire for power cord into a 30 amp main feeding 3 15 amp breakers into 14 gauge stranded wire int o 4 outlets all gfi,2 in the galley running small refridgerator & micro wave and or a small
toaster oven thats circuit 1 #2 will be tv an dvd and cabin out #3 will be ac
and battery charge or power conveter.The 12 volt is going to be really simple with just 2 cabin light and 2 galley lights and a outside door light
if I missed anything speak up going to start wiring in the morning

personally i would run 12ga 20 amp circuits so i could run applianced up to 2400 watts if it came down to it. 15 amps will be fine for the most part, and you will save money. just watch out when you plug in the space heater and the wife wants to blow dry her hair on the same outlet

just make sure you use stranded wire. its easier to fit in tight spaces and it wont fatigue with vibrations like the solid. i would use crimp eyelet connectors on my outlets. maybe even solder the crimps.

...we used stranded for all wiring...12/3 sheathed for 120VAC outlets and 14/2 for 12VDC outlets/lights...wasn't worried about the vibration thing, just found stranded easier to run and make up connections...that darn solid wire is just so...well, solid... madjack

A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history - with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila.
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I'm a little ignorant on this, but learning with Phil, my neighbor really doing the decision making and work on the wiring.

We (I) bought 14 ga speaker wire. A 30 amp breaker on the battery with 10 ga going back to the fuse box. Then the 10 amp fuses, going to the lights, etc.

The actual electrical will be simple and separate. Power strips in the cabin and galley, AC and microwave (future) etc will plug into those. Then those two wired together and run to the exterior wall and will have a male outlet there. Get to the campsite, plug in good extension cord over to the pigtail.

So tell me , please... what is the difference about stranded or solid wire?
Is the stranded where there are lots of copper strands in the wire itself?

Sorry if that sounds like a stupid description... I really am dumb on this subject... but looking up.

[quote="oklahomajewel"]I'm a little ignorant on this, but learning with Phil, my neighbor really doing the decision making and work on the wiring.

So tell me , please... what is the difference about stranded or solid wire?
Is the stranded where there are lots of copper strands in the wire itself?

Yes Stranded wire is the one with lots of strands of copper wire in it.
The reason stradned is better for 12vdc is that electricity run on the outside of the wire so the more wires the more current it can carry.
Rev. Ken

oklahomajewel wrote:We (I) bought 14 ga speaker wire. A 30 amp breaker on the battery with 10 ga going back to the fuse box. Then the 10 amp fuses, going to the lights, etc.

The actual electrical will be simple and separate. Power strips in the cabin and galley, AC and microwave (future) etc will plug into those. Then those two wired together and run to the exterior wall and will have a male outlet there. Get to the campsite, plug in good extension cord over to the pigtail.

So tell me , please... what is the difference about stranded or solid wire? Is the stranded where there are lots of copper strands in the wire itself?

Sorry if that sounds like a stupid description... I really am dumb on this subject... but looking up.

Hey "Jewel"

There is nothing dumb or stupid about your questions. Electricity, which we use all the time and take for granted, has to used properly or it can cause injury or fire. So caution is wisdom!

I understand some things better in a visual way. This picture helped me alot to see what I needed/wanted in a basic system that I would not outgrow.

A simple system is great and works well as long as it does what you want it to do. If down the road you find you want it do more then it can be hard to retro fit aTD were a lot of the wiring can be inaccessable. So think it through and build it your way...

Check out this quote from the site linked above:

Most of the 12 Volt wiring in RVs is done using 12 or 14 ga. twinlead. The most common seems to be white with a black trace to denote the positive wire. When in doubt, check with a meter to determine which is positive and which is ground. A lot of RVs also use a crimp style connector to tap into these 12 volt wires to hook up lights and other low current devices. I don't personally care for these crimp connectors as they can fail over time, so any time I make a new connection, I use either wire nuts or solder and heat shrink to make secure connections. If you intend to install 12 Volt equipment in your RV, it's important to be sure that you use adequately sized wire to meet the amperage requirements of whatever it is that you're installing. Here's a table of wire sizes and amperage ratings that will provide some basic guidelines. This table leans a bit towards heavier wire than is absolutely necessary, but that's actually safer in the long run. Always provide fuse protection of any new wiring that you install. The fuse should be sized so as to protect the wiring from meltdown. Don't put a 20 amp fuse on a circuit wired with 16 ga. wire.

Once I felt I understood the principles explained here I was confident I could wire the DC part of my system. The chart that followed in this web article also helped. I also used the advise and help of electricians to give me the pointers I needed for the Alternating Current (shore power) side of the system. It has been an education for me!

On the AC side of things I followed the standard use and practices of typical household wiring all the way. No short cuts here.

I think you can do it. Get the help you feel you need, build what you really want, don't settle for less than this in the building stage. Go for it!

We (I) bought 14 ga speaker wire. A 30 amp breaker on the battery with 10 ga going back to the fuse box. Then the 10 amp fuses, going to the lights, etc.

The actual electrical will be simple and separate. Power strips in the cabin and galley, AC and microwave (future) etc will plug into those. Then those two wired together and run to the exterior wall and will have a male outlet there. Get to the campsite, plug in good extension cord over to the pigtail.

So tell me , please... what is the difference about stranded or solid wire? Is the stranded where there are lots of copper strands in the wire itself?

To answer your question Julie:
Yes Stranded Wire is where there is a lot of copper wired in one enclosed bundle ( representing one wire : example: one solid wire ).
I think Hap did a good job with the power strip in his Tear at Bever Bend. The K.I.S.S. method works very well and is easy to find the problems or expand later.
I will more than likely over do my electrical because of what I'm doing with the trailer electronics/solar things inside.

Most of the 12 Volt wiring in RVs is done using 12 or 14 ga. twinlead. The most common seems to be white with a black trace to denote the positive wire. YES, that's what we bought. It's 14 gauge stranded and 'clear' with the black writing/numbers on one of the lines.

If you intend to install 12 Volt equipment in your RV, it's important to be sure that you use adequately sized wire to meet the amperage requirements of whatever it is that you're installing.

YES, 10 amp fuses is what I think we're using.

Thanks everybody... I'm learning more about all this, thanks to this awesome board! But I'll let Phil or the other knowledgeable neighbor Tom or Gary double, triple check what I'm doing., Or let them do it.

Rev. Ken wrote:If you are wiring for 12 volt you should run stranded wire. it carries more current than solid, more suface area.

The current carrying capacity of wire is reflected in its gauge, ie look at any electricians chart for deciding wire gauge only the overall wire cross section is used and no allowance is made for whether its stranded or solid.